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Tuesday, August 22, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Al Bashang BRO b. 1888, played 1918, d. 1967-06-23
John Doherty CAL b. 1951, played 1974-1975
Red Downs BRO b. 1883, played 1912, d. 1939-10-19. A first baseman who made the unusual shift to second on two Detroit pennant winners, he became a player-manager for the PCL's San Francisco Seals in 1917, playing his final season with the Los Angeles Angels in 1918.
Ike Hampton CAL b. 1951, played 1975-1979
Jeff Weaver LAN b. 1976, played 2004-2005. I've already outlined Jeff Weaver's up-and-down career in this space; he seems to be putting the wheels back on in St. Louis with pitching coach Dave Duncan, as evidenced by this St. Louis Post-Dispatch article. Good luck to him.
Instant Ace: Padres 4, Dodgers 2
Every team should have a pitcher or twelve they can pull out of AAA in case of emergency, and so Tim Stauffer got to stymie the Dodgers for six; two of the Padres' runs scored on a passed ball. Get 'em today, I guess.Notes
- Jered Weaver's not letting success get to his head.
- High praise from a Red Sox fan: "The fans in Anaheim are more into the game," says Boston expat bar Sonny McLain's owner Jim Conners. "It's more of a real baseball crowd. Honestly, it's more like a Red Sox crowd."
- Brendan Donnelly thinks the Angels need to be within three games of the A's when they meet on September 22 for the Angels to get to the postseason.
- Despite having his star players yanked out of his club all the time, the owner of the Bees likes the Angels as a parent club.
- Felipe Alou has nice things to say about that former A's prospect, Andre Ethier.
- Rick Sutcliffe wants a job in the Dodgers front office and slobbers all over Ned Colletti as a result. Rick: didn't they outlaw the use of saliva in baseball years ago?
- Takashi Saito is a really good pitcher.
- Julio Lugo is playing with an injured right middle finger that hurts him when he bats and fields.
- San Diego native David Wells has cleared waivers; not even the pitching-short (at the moment) Padres wanted him. Wow.
- Former Dodger Odalis Perez has lost all his starts with the Royals, and is trying again tonight against the Indians.
- Rich Harden is feeling better, but Bobby Crosby isn't.
Comments:
I still wince whenever someone talks about Sox or Yankees fans being "louder" than Angels fans, let alone being at the game in greater numbers. I've been to a ton of Yankees and Sox games in Anaheim over the years, and three things were true about every one of them:
1) Yankees and Sox fans were louder and more beligerent when nothing important was happening on the field;
2) Angels fans were always twice as loud when the Angels did something good as the Yankees or Sox fans were when their team did something good; and
3) There were always a good deal more Angels fans in attendance at every one of those games.
Just because fans in Southern California aren't being beligerent and obnoxious for the entire three hours doesn't mean they aren't into the game. In 2000, when Ramon Ortiz beat Pedro 2-1, that place was going crazy at the end of the game, and it was far louder when the Angels recorded the final out than it was at any other point in the game. And I'd venture to guess that game had the most Sox fans in attendance because Pedro was on the mound (though I don't know that for a fact). It's all a media meme that they love to play up to make Angels fans look bad, but it's never been true.
1) Yankees and Sox fans were louder and more beligerent when nothing important was happening on the field;
2) Angels fans were always twice as loud when the Angels did something good as the Yankees or Sox fans were when their team did something good; and
3) There were always a good deal more Angels fans in attendance at every one of those games.
Just because fans in Southern California aren't being beligerent and obnoxious for the entire three hours doesn't mean they aren't into the game. In 2000, when Ramon Ortiz beat Pedro 2-1, that place was going crazy at the end of the game, and it was far louder when the Angels recorded the final out than it was at any other point in the game. And I'd venture to guess that game had the most Sox fans in attendance because Pedro was on the mound (though I don't know that for a fact). It's all a media meme that they love to play up to make Angels fans look bad, but it's never been true.
I've always thought that maybe people out here are slightly more sophisticated and evolved, such that you don't see the level of juvenile, crazed fanaticism out of west coast sports fans that you find back east. Though the charge is levied against us (and not just Angels fans, but Dodgers fans as well) that we are not as "into" it because fans out here tend not to act as stupid, maybe it's just that...we're not as stupid.
# posted by 
: 8/22/2006 11:13:00 AM
: 8/22/2006 11:13:00 AM
I'd be a little more willing to accept the idea that Angel fans are more sophisticaed and smarter than Red Sox or Yankee fans if there weren't beach balls floating around the Big A every half inning and if the biggest boos in the stands didn't happen when the usher takes away the beach ball.
But the original post is right. Most fans at the Big A, at least since 2002, and Angel fans. Maybe the opposite was true before 2002, but since then, Angel fans have been loud, passionate and with the beach ball exception, usually pretty smart. Angel fans are no worse (except for the beach ball exception) than NY/Bos fans.
What the Angels don't have are fans that invade, say, the Metrodome and make a lot of noise at the opponent's park. This is guaranteed to get you an obnoxious reputation, even if 98% of your fans are just being responsible but passionate fans.
But Angel fans? Let us lose the beach balls forever.
But the original post is right. Most fans at the Big A, at least since 2002, and Angel fans. Maybe the opposite was true before 2002, but since then, Angel fans have been loud, passionate and with the beach ball exception, usually pretty smart. Angel fans are no worse (except for the beach ball exception) than NY/Bos fans.
What the Angels don't have are fans that invade, say, the Metrodome and make a lot of noise at the opponent's park. This is guaranteed to get you an obnoxious reputation, even if 98% of your fans are just being responsible but passionate fans.
But Angel fans? Let us lose the beach balls forever.
# posted by : 8/22/2006 07:51:00 PM
: 8/22/2006 07:51:00 PM
How come your links to the LA Times never work? Even after I sign in, they still don't. Same thing from Jon's site.
# posted by : 8/22/2006 08:31:00 PM
: 8/22/2006 08:31:00 PM
Beach balls are just as prevalent at Dodger Stadium; the difference is that the ushers don't make an effort to go get them, whereas at Dodger Stadium they descend upon them like vultures.
I think it might just be a SoCal thing, what with half the population owning pools, and the overall lifestyle being rather beach oriented.
I would have no problem with them at all if people only took them out in between innings. I mean, batting around a beach ball seems to be no worse a distraction than video "races" between character baseballs, or folks dressed as various sausages running the bases. I think anything that gets the fans in a more active mode (as opposed to passively watching a video monitor) is generally a good thing.
I think it might just be a SoCal thing, what with half the population owning pools, and the overall lifestyle being rather beach oriented.
I would have no problem with them at all if people only took them out in between innings. I mean, batting around a beach ball seems to be no worse a distraction than video "races" between character baseballs, or folks dressed as various sausages running the bases. I think anything that gets the fans in a more active mode (as opposed to passively watching a video monitor) is generally a good thing.
# posted by : 8/22/2006 11:41:00 PM
: 8/22/2006 11:41:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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